Unacceptable
by KatiKat
Summary: Sequel to Slice of Life. Wufei is not getting better. 13x5, yaoi.


Unacceptable 

by KatiKat

Treize tried to concentrate on the mountains of paperwork that seemed to grow taller and taller with every day since their whole ordeal began. But try as he might, the words swam in front of his eyes, losing meaning and turning into gibberish. With a disgusted sigh he threw the file on the highly polished surface of his antique desk and leaned back in his soft leather chair. He rubbed his tired eyes with the heels of his palms, then let his head fall back.

He truly tried to be there for Wufei any minute of the day, to help him through the worst moments of his therapy. But exhaustion was starting to get to him, rendering him completely useless at work which only added to the stress he already felt. And under so much stress he began to make mistakes and what was worse, the tension he felt was slowly turning into a never-ending bad mood which caused him to snap at Wufei because of the smallest of things that were not important at all.

Just like that morning. They were eating breakfast - better said, Treize was eating breakfast and Wufei was nibbling at his dry toast, drinking tea gone cold - when a strong cramp caught his lover unprepared, causing him to drop the half-full cup of tea from his already unsteady and trembling hand. The delicate porcelain cup shattered into tiny pieces, splattering them both with the luke warm, green liquid. It was no big deal since the porcelain wasn't antique, the tea was not scalding hot and they could change clothes, but even if one of these alternatives was true, it still shouldn't have caused Treize to bark out a curse and accuse Wufei of not being careful enough. He regretted the words as soon as they passed his lips but one look at the Chinese man's face told him that the damage was done. Wufei closed himself off, his face turning into a stone mask, an expression Treize hated more than anything else because it wouldn't allow him to read his lover's emotions. No amount of apologies could bring him out of the shell he hid in, his only reaction a whispered acknowledgment and understanding of Treize's reaction. And an apology... where no apology was needed, not from Wufei.

He brought Wufei to the hospital, offered his presence that was of course politely declined, and now he was sitting here, in his expensively designed office and cursing himself for the fool he was.

Treize sighed deeply, looked at the clock that told him he still had two more hours to kill before Wufei's therapy was finished and with the determination to do at least something, he straightened in his chair and... froze.

There, by the door, a figure stood... He felt his heart clench painfully in his chest and all the fine hair on his body stand up. Impossible...

"Wufei..." Treize croaked out silently.

It was him. But not the fragile being he was now, but the strong and healthy young man who had almost beaten him in their first sparring session of kendo. He took in the long hair, bound tightly in a pony tail, the sun tanned bronze skin, the well defined muscles that showed under his white training suit... and the loving smile on his beautiful face.

"No..." Treize forced out through a tightly closed off throat. "No, it can't be," he refused in a stronger voice as the ghostly, almost transparent, as he noticed, being-that-was-not-Wufei mouthed the words "I love you".

He heard about such things happening, about souls visiting their loved ones when their physical selves... died. And seeing Wufei here with a sad smile on his lips... There could be only two reasons: either he was going mad or... his lover had come to say good-bye.

"NO!" Treize shouted, jumping to his feet, his chair flying back and hitting the wall behind him.

And in one blink of an eye the ghost was gone as if scared by the noise Treize had made.

Catching himself on his desk, Treize gasped, his lungs starving for air, while his eyes still concentrated on the spot where the transparent figure was standing just seconds ago.

It was the ringing of his phone that brought Treize out of his frozen state. Tearing his eyes away from the empty space the ghost left behind, he looked at the display of his phone. The number of Sally's hospital shone there in a bright green light.

Treize clenched his hands on the edge of his desk, his eyes glued to the green letters. Slowly, he started to shake his head as a wave of denial rose inside of him. "Nonononononono..." he kept whispering as the phone rang and rang and rang. Finally it fell silent as the call was switched to the desk of his secretary. Now it wasn't just his head that shook but his whole body and he felt his knees grow week and tired.

Then the intercom rattled and Une's voice, uncommonly full of gentleness and sympathy, said: "Sir, it's Doctor Po from the hospital. I think you should take it."

------------------------

The blinking machines beeped and hissed around the bed that looked too large for the frail body lying in it. Treize moved his chair closer to the sterile piece of furniture and reached out to take the gaunt hand with bones fragile as bird's in his, careful not to disturb the myriad of tubes attached to it. He squeezed the cold fingers gently and swallowing hard, he whispered, "He won't make it."

It wasn't a question but Sally Po, standing in the shadows of the ICU room took it as one. "We don't know it. We can't say it for sure. Wufei is fighting it. He didn't give up yet. And you shouldn't give him up either." Even though she intended to admonish him, her voice lacked the strength.

Treize didn't respond, but concentrated fully on the body lying in a pool of light in the center of the bed. Wufei looked ethereal, like he didn't belong among mortals anymore. His skin was sickly yellow, his eyes marred with deep shadows, cheeks hollow and sunken. And now there were dozens of tubes attached to every available patch of skin, the thickest of them wedged into his mouth and down his throat, pushing air into his unresponsive lungs in steady, regular hisses.

How did they come to be here? How did it happen when just a year ago they planned to travel around the world, visit Paris and the pyramids in Giza and see the carnival in Rio and...

He rubbed the knuckles of the too still hand he held in his and said in a hoarse voice. "When you called... when you called I thought it was to tell me he was dead." He heard the sharp intake of breath from her direction, but continued uninterrupted. "I saw him... his ghost... or his soul... in my office... just before you called." His eyes, trained on the beloved face, filled with tears and his voice trembled slightly. "He told me he loved me... and then he was gone. I thought... I thought he died." His voice broke at the end.

Sally came closer and lay her strong hand on his shoulder to squeeze it in sympathy. "We were in the middle of his session when he collapsed. His body simply shut down. It took us a while to revive him, but we did it," she explained. "Now it's up to him." She leaned closer. "Talk to him, convince him he does have a reason to fight on even though it's hard and painful and discouraging. He needs you now more than ever."

Treize lowered his eyes toward the slender fingers in his hand. "I shouted at him this morning... I cursed him for his clumsiness because he dropped a cup..." He let the words hang in the air between them.

Sally walked around him, then dropped to a crouch to look him directly in the eyes. "This was not your fault, Treize. I was expecting something like that since we talked the last time. The medicine is killing the disease but it's weakening his body terribly too. It would have happened anyway. But no matter the fight, he needs you now. You have to put your guilt aside and talk to him." When her speech didn't rouse a response from the depressed businessman she asked in a sharper voice: "Or do you regret being here? Knowing him? Is it too much for you to love him as he is now?"

Treize's head shot up, a spark of anger shooting through his eyes. "NO, of course not. How can you say something like that? How dare you doubt my love to him? He is everything for me! You can't even begin to comprehend what he means to me!" he spat out.

His words still rang through the small cubicle, when the look of indignation on his face turned to amazement and his eyes snapped to the hand he held in his. Wufei's gaunt, bony fingers moved slightly, squeezing his hand oh so gently in response.

"Wufei?" Treize whispered reverently.

Sally smiled. "See? He is still there, our fighter. And he needs you here as his link to reality." She became somber again. "He is fighting for his life, Treize, and he needs all the help he can get. Don't bury him prematurely."

Treize nodded, his whole attention focused on Wufei again. "I will do whatever he needs," he promised as he leaned closer and touched the bare, pale forehead, caressing it in short gentle strokes. "I'm here, love. I will always be here. I promise."

And as Sally got up and with a last check of the monitors headed for the door to give them a moment of privacy, Treize turned around to and called after her quietly. "Thank you, Sally."

She smiled at him and nodded.

And as she left him alone with his lover for a couple of minutes, Treize leaned closer again and with a renewed confidence, he stroked the fragile hand in his and kept on whispering about things to come and future promises to be fulfilled. Because a future there would be. Anything else was unacceptable. He would make sure of that.

The End


End file.
